THERE’S a couple of facts about Grammy winner Sean Paul that might have escaped your attention.

Firstly, he’s the most successful Jamaican artist of all time in the US charts (and, yes, that does include Bob Marley). Secondly, although he was born in Kingston he’s a second-claim Cov Kid.

Sean’s grandmother hails from Coventry and his mother grew up here, so down the years he has spent a fair bit of time visiting relatives in the city.

In truth, Coventry doesn’t feature on his list of favourite places which, understandably enough, lean towards rather more exotic locales: “... under a mango tree in Jamaica, on the beach in Negril, New York City and LA for partying. The Pyramids at Giza, Japan for the food...”

But we’re not so rich in international stars that we can afford to ignore one who is about to embark on the latest phase of a remarkably successful career.

New single So Fine is out on August 17, heralding fourth album Imperial Blaze, which arrives on August 31. And Sean Paul Ryan Francis Henriques (SP to his friends) has no doubts that it maintains the standards he has set himself.

“Imperial Blaze is like the king’s fire,” he declares. “It’s all about going hard and keeping it hot.

“In this business they say you’re only as good as your last hit. They say you’ve got to prove yourself all over again every time you come back, so here we come.

“When I look back on great artists over the years – Bob Marley and even Shabba Ranks and Super Cat – you see all that they accomplished and it’s amazing.

“I just want to do as much as I can, too.

Sean acknowledges a wide range of musical influences – from Marley to the Beatles, Busta Rhymes to Cat Stevens – and he believes his style has broadened since his 2002 breakthrough with Gimme The Light..

“My first album (Stage One) was mainly a compilation of songs that were out in the dancehall,” he says. “On the second album (Dutty Rock) we added a few special ones, and with The Trinity we did even more exclusive songs.

“But now with Imperial Blaze, most of them were recorded specially for this album – it’s all about my growth as an artist.

“There’are plenty of party tracks, but we’re not just singing about the same old thing.

“My music has reached the point where it’s expanding – I’m talking about relationships and different things we all go through in life.”

That new material includes Straight From My Heart, a song written in honour of his mother’s birthday.

“That felt so good it should have been the first song I ever recorded,” he says. “Music is supposed to be for celebration, and who better to celebrate than the woman who gave me life?”